la la (beta)

Easy to add discs to your account. Good selection. Search box with type-ahead feature. AJAX-powered interface. Online audio samples. Starter kit includes slim CD mailers with envelopes, and you can request more as necessary. Detailed help system.

Cons
No way to prioritize Want list. Browsing system not finalized. No way to tell if a particular CD is actually available. Still need another source (Amazon or iTunes, for example) to get CD information and reviews.

Haul your unwanted CDs to the local music store, and you'll be lucky to get $1.50 per disc. Sell them on eBay, and you could net a few extra bucks, but the process is tedious, at best. In either case, if you also want to purchase new or used discs, you'll probably pay much more than you got for your old ones. The la la beta offers a better alternative, letting members exchange unwanted CDs online for those they want.

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The service focuses on music CDs, and like Peerflix and SwitchDiscs, it aims to revolutionize the way you collect and trade media. Nobody has perfected the trading formula yet, but la la comes the closest by supplying envelopes, plastic CD mailers, a good selection, and an ultrasmooth interface.

In general terms, it works like its competitors: The content you and others put up for trade goes into a pool. As it grows, the chances of finding items you want increase. la la also seeds the system with additional content as necessary, increasing the likelihood of getting what you want. I'm not sure if this was the reason, but every time I clicked on Ship to send off a CD, within hourssometimes minutesone I wanted was on its way to me.

As with Peerflix (but not SwitchDiscs), trades cost moneyone dollar each. In addition, you pay for shipping (also the case for SwitchDiscs)49 cents whenever you receive a CD. There are no sign-up or monthly fees. As resident Cheap Geek Ben Gottesman so aptly put it during testing: You can't beat the price for non-DRM, original content.

The interface is a thing of beauty. The search facility is prominently displayed at the top and incorporates a look-ahead feature: Type in the first few letters of an artist's name, and a drop-down list with the most likely candidates immediately appears. If you pass your cursor over a disc while browsing other members' collections, a box opens to the right that shows the album cover, artist, CD title, and a track listing, complete with audio samples.

You start by building a Have List and a Want List. Adding discs you own to your Have List is fast. The look-ahead feature works here too, though only for artists, not album titles. Building your Want list is even easierwhen you're browsing the service, clicking on the gray Want icon next to a CD instantly adds it.

You can add dozenseven hundredsof CDs to your Want list, but you can't tell if a particular CD is actually available for trade. In this respect, I prefer Peerflix, with its priority-based, automated wish-list system, because I know it's attempting to send me the items I want most. I'd also like to see more information about albums, such as descriptions, reviews from trusted sources, or member reviews. The system does recommend members with interests similar to yours, though. You can add those people as "friends" and build a kind of mini-network that lets you get ideas from others about new music you might like.

Rather than assigning a value in "bux" to each CD, as Peerflix and SwitchDiscs do, all CDs get the same value, which simplifies trading. When someone wants a CD you've put up, you can receive one in trade for it.

During my review, la la had a function that let you browse artist genres, such as alternative, blues, and classical, the way you would in a typical music store. By the time you read this, though, the company says it will have disabled the current browsing system. A spokesperson said that most users prefer browsing according to the suggestions of friends on the service, or just by checking out what other people have and what the site recommends. The fastest way to find something is, of course, to know what you want and just use the search box.

Supplied postage, plastic CD cases, and prepared envelopes made shipping much simpler than with Peerflix and SwitchDiscs. CDs I received showed up in good condition, sometimes even with the liner notes, though that's not required. If you receive a scratched, broken, or counterfeit CD, or never receive it at all (none of which happened to me), report the problem to la la immediately: The service will instantly credit you the $1.49 fee and make sure you're first in line for another copy. There's also a thorough help system, with dozens of available topics and answered questions.

la la says it intends to send 20 percent of each $1 trading fee to the appropriate artist (if the artist registers with the company), and that if there are unresolved legal issues concerning the compensation, the money will go to a charitable foundation meant to provide musicians with subsidized health care and legal services. The company's plans are very vague, at this point, though. Still, if the promise materializes, it would be the icing on the cake for a great trading service.

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Automatic Renewal Program: Your subscription will continue without interruption for as long as you wish, unless
you instruct us otherwise. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of the term unless you authorize
cancellation. Each year, you'll receive a notice and you authorize that your credit/debit card will be charged the
annual subscription rate(s). You may cancel at any time during your subscription and receive a full refund on all
unsent issues. If your credit/debit card or other billing method can not be charged, we will bill you directly instead. Contact Customer Service